Keep Up With Your Books

You can easily gain a half level of XP from completing a Book quest, and you don’t even have to do a lot of work! Most of the time, half of the quest chains in Book quests consist of you traveling all over Eriador to talk to NPCs, which is boring but easy XP. Expect to hit a snag though, when you get to the parts of the chain that require fellowships – but then, that’s what your kinmates are for, right? The exceptions to this are Volume 2, Books 3-6 in Moria. These quest chains still require you to run all over the place, but since Moria is a massive, rocky ball of mazes and confusion, you’ll spend a lot more time completing them than if you were in Eriador. Get to 60 first, and then finish the Moria Book quests.

Use Destiny to Buy Blue Bars

Always have some blue rest XP since any mobs you kill will then drop twice the amount of XP. If you play often however, you may not build enough blues and eventually run out. You can always take a day or two off to let it rebuild, but you’re in a hurry to level, remember? If you didn’t spend them all on your creeps, use destiny points to purchase more rest XP. You don’t get a lot, but it’s better than nothing.

Do Exploration Deeds on Horseback

Some deeds require exploring various parts of a given area. Since this can take a while if you’re on foot, put this off until you purchase a horse/pony. If you wait long enough, you’ll likely also have outleveled the mobs in that area; therefore they won’t bother you as you ride through. You won’t get XP once you’ve outleveled the deed, but you do save yourself a lot of time by waiting until you get transportation. Naturally this won’t work with deeds in high-level areas, such as the infamous Circle of Despair deed and parts of Moria.

Avoid Quests in Out-of-the-Way Areas

We’ve all encountered this situation with our first character. You’re wandering around and find a lone NPC in the middle of nowhere, or run into a small outpost with a couple of NPCs who will give you a few quests. If you’re in a hurry to get to level 60 with your alt, there’s no need to return to these out-of-the-way places just to complete a measly three quests. Stick to quests in large, easily accessible towns (i.e. those that have a stable and milestone). However, if you encounter a small area on the way to a major town (e.g. Gatson’s farm in the North Downs), then take a detour and spend a half hour or so questing there.

Two-Box if You Can

While I’m not advocating buying a second account, having a high-level character help out a lower-level character is one of the best ways to get to the end cap quickly. Nothing beats running through a level 30 area with a level 60 character and one-shotting everything while your lowbie alt reaps the rewards. Furthermore, you can do the lower-level fellowship Book quests by yourself. If you happen to have a second account in your household, put that high level character to work! Again, DPS/AoE characters are ideal, though a Minstrel or Rune-Keeper is nice for the heals.

Dual boxing does not break the Terms of Service since it requires a human being to control both computers and both keyboards, so you can breathe a sigh of relief. Keep in mind though, that it takes some practice to two-box efficiently. For the newcomer, it can be tough to control two characters at once. For example, you’ll have to be more careful where you run, lest you risk having your following character get stuck behind a wall. Fortunately, a quick Google search yields a number of forums and dual boxing websites that can help you.

Area and Level Guide

Level 1-10: Noob Areas (Ered Luin, the Shire, East Breeland)

The first ten levels can be completed in an afternoon. If you’re crafty, you won’t need to do a lot of mob-killing quests. A really fast way to level at this very early stage is to complete the crafting quests. If you have other toons with multiple crafting abilities, have them make all the crafting items beforehand and mail them to your new alt. You can also get them from the AH, or ask some kinmates to make them for you. If you don’t remember which NPCs give crafting quests, here is a handy guide. .

Level 11-20: The Fun Begins (West Breeland, West Lone Lands)

Bree is like Rome in that all roads lead to it. Whether you’re a hobbit, dwarf, or elf, you quickly find yourself rubbing elbows with smelly, hairy men folk when you enter this area. Bree-town and its surrounding areas offer a healthy amount of quests. However, skip Adso’s Camp, as some quests lead to the Old Forest, a region of frustration. Also avoid the quest “Big Problems”, which requires you to go all the way northwest in the Brandywood. It’s a far run for a horseless toon, and the only quest in that area.

The soloable Bree quests dry up around level 15-16, so head east for the Lone Lands to do the Forsaken Inn quests. This area is terrific because most of the mobs you kill drop multiple items that satisfy several quests at once. However, avoid the Minas Eriol quests that require a fellowship.

Level 20-30: Kicking it Up a Notch (East Lone Lands, North Downs)

At this point you should divide your time between the east Lone Lands (Ost Guruth) and the west North Downs. I usually finish off the Lone Lands region first because it has fewer quests. If you get bored however, take a break and do the Trestlebridge quests in the North Downs. Avoid any fellowship quests that take you to Nan Wathren.

Once you’ve completed the Lone Lands and Trestlebridge quests, hoof it to Esteldin. Do the quests in Gatson’s farm since they’re along the way. At around level 26ish, don’t forget to head north and pick up the Othrikar quests as well. With the exception of the book quest that takes you there, skip Lin Gilliath, the elf outpost south of Gatson’s farm.

Level 30-40: Who Wants to Go for a Swim? (North Downs, Evendim, Western Trollshaws, Misty Mountains, Angmar)

When you reach this level stage, your options for questing areas significantly increase. There are still plenty of Esteldin quests, but by your early to mid-30s you can also check out Evendim and the Trollshaws. In the North Downs, pick up the quests from the Earth-Kin camp across from Esteldin. However, avoid at all costs any Dol Dinen quests. The mobs are notorious for respawning quickly, not to mention that many are trolls that love to toss you into a cluster of previously unaggroed trolls. The quest rewards are not worth the high repair bills. Don’t bother picking up quests from the camp outside the Fornost instance either.

When you tire of the North Downs, head over to Evendim, land with the giant lake but no usable boats in sight. Approach from the south (via the Shire) and do the Oatbarton quests since it only takes about an hour. Head north for Tinnudir and Ost Forod. Make sure to pick up all the Bounty Hunter quests in Ost Forod from the posters – there should be five. Don’t even think about doing that time sink of a fellowship quest “The Tomb of Elendil”. I’d normally suggest avoiding the Eavespires outpost far west of Everswim *ahem* Evendim, but those two elves and their Ent buddy have a bunch of quests for you.

If you’re going insane from the swimming, take a breather from Evendim and venture into the Trollshaws, primarily Thorenhad. However, step away from the frustrating spider quest chain in the Wovenvales. The spiders are all elite and respawn quickly. Furthermore, each quest in the chain takes forever to complete, and the rewards are nice but not phenomenal.

By the time you’re around level 38, head for Rivendell and the Misty Mountains. Spend as little time as possible in the Misties. There are no stables anywhere, which is a pain in the hobbit. Do the quests in Gloin’s camp but ignore the quests leading to Goblin Town, the east side of the Misties, and Giant Halls. Avoid any non-Book quest related Goblin Town quests, period.

Too much snow for ya? Then shuffle over someplace dry and dreary, like Angmar! Actually, by your late 30s you’re still a bit under-leveled for Angmar proper, but you’re a perfect fit for the quests at the Earth-Kin camp south of Aughaire.

Level 40-50: The Last Stretch before Moria (Trollshaws, Angmar, Forochel)

Once again, your selections of questing areas during this level stage are fantastic. Hang out in Tal Bruinen for a bit then swing by Angmar. Tal Bruinen used to be out of the way, but the developers recently (and wisely) put in a stable, making the area more accessible.

Around level 42 head for Forochel, the soloing player’s paradise. There are five major outposts/cities, each of which offers a ton of quests. When you reach the town of Suri-Kyla, do the quest “The Frozen War” as soon as you have access to it. It opens up a swift travel option to the tiny outpost of Kuru-Leiri, far to the west. Vol. 1, Book 13 requires many trips back and forth from Suri-Kyla to Kuru-Leiri, which would normally take about 10 minutes one way. Save yourself (and your fellowship members) time and get that swift travel option ASAP.

Don’t forget Angmar though! Once you’ve cleared the Aughaire quests and completed Vol. 1, Book 6, head over to the secret dwarf camp of Gabilshatur. Do the easy quests there, but leave when they start telling you to kill trolls and other fellowship quests. Travel north to the hidden Ranger camp of Gath Forthnir and again, do the soloable quests there but skedaddle when they start telling you to go to Carn Dum and Urugarth. Return to Forochel and finish leveling there.